It has been a week of parties, tears, and laughing and we are all going to miss Jordan very much. She has made me laugh more than most people when there is NO reason to laugh. And I appreciate that so much.
As we speak, she is attempting to pack up her life in her truck, trying not to panic about what the future will hold. But, she can know that she will always have a place to call home here at Polestar.
Some of you know this already, and have congratulated me on my new appointment as Equestrian’s Institute Eventing Director. Im still very new to the position, so Im not quite sure what I do, other than approve budgets and re-learn Robert’s Rules of Order. I am attempting to understand the new Equestrian’s Institute website, and part of that includes writing a blog post. Im just going to be blogging night and day. If you cant find me in the barn, look on the computer. Thought you might like to see the post, as well as ask yourself if becoming a member of EI is something that you would want to do.
Unfortunately, we have had to cancel the Don Sachey clinic. Its a bummer, but the horrid weather last week disrupted the first plans and then the group momentum for an alternative date (this weekend) was just not jiving. I didnt have time to re advertise to get more participants at short notice, so we decided to get a summer clinic planned. Stay tuned for that date.
But I am delighted to tell you that I can GUARANTEE like a used-car salesman that the weather from here on out will be
wonderful. Yes, you heard that right: with 100% certainty the weather will be dazzling sunshine and balmy breezes with the aroma of coconut and pineapples. Why, you ask??? Well, we have removed (no pun intended) the only reason why we have had snow and rain this winter….. Archie McPhee has been gelded!!!! Yes, Dr. Ron Colton and I have solved the reason behind the El Archie meterological event, and they (both of them) are in the garbage. Archie has managed to delay the gelding FOUR times this winter with one flood and THREE snows. How does he do it? We are not sure, but it involves powerful magic. Everytime the sun shines, you need to thank me and Ron!
Oh boy, it’s the day after our Mint Challenge, and I am still reveling in the great food we ate. Im apparently not
alone in this happy thought, Mark mentioned it also this morning. I think we had the best balanced meal yet – every dish was very complimentary to the others. I am now inspired to keep a pot of summer mint in my house through the winter to motivate me to make interesting meals. It has transgressed from a malignant form of weed/food to a cultivated and treasured crop! Isnt that what every northwestern garderner says? “Oh that damn mint…. Its everwhere!”. I say, you need an attitude shift… and a good dish.
Before I introduce the recipes, I should say that we have picked up another vagrant cook to join our group: Dr. Chelsie Hollan DVM. Next time we hope she will bring her husband, but Im sure he got to eat leftovers yesterday.
My dish was a summer zesty Thai/Laotian salad: Lard Nar (terrible name but delicious food). Now that Ive made it once, I can see how no recipe is ever needed again for the future. It is an add anything nummy type of dish based with cilantro, mint, thai basil and lime. Like a mojito in food form!!
Jordan made pork chops with a whisky, mint sauce. Anything with whisky/bourbon and mint just has to be delicious!!
Kat made a Bobby Flay dish grilled red onion cucumber salad with a yogurt mint sauce. Again, very summery and fresh. I can imagine that dish with a meal of couscous and nan. Crap, Im getting hungry again just writing about it.
Chelsie made brownies with raspberry layer and chocolate mint ganache over top. The raspberries were zesty
and brownie delicious. Again, how can you go wrong with the combination of chocolate, mint and raspberry?
Thanks to JoAnn we were well minted up with beautiful mojitos too. The pink sugar was like lipstick on the glass.
The winner was Kat with the cucumber salad! And she has chosen next week’s ingredient to be cumin. 
From the photo it looks a lot like Queen Ann’s lace or a carrot.
But what about the horses? Do they exist anymore? Yes, they are sitting in their stalls right now eating lots of hay with two frozen arenas outside. Im inside drinking coffee and I should be out there doing something functional, like washing tails and scrubbing dirty ankles. But since we don’t have any hot water, Ive made the executive decision for a slow day until that arena melts.
Dino has had some amazing workouts, the best being after chores on Monday when nobody else was around. It was quiet, the barn and arena were all mine to commune with my horse. He is Jonny Knoxville in horse form. All boy, obnoxious, funny and a real athlete when he slows down and focuses. He was concentrating and willing to work with me, and I think it is in no small part due to the fact that there were very little distractions. The problem with being the BO is that lots and lots of diversions happen to me and they dont stop just because Im sitting on a horse. Im the final word on lots of logistical barn stuff, and Dino takes advantage of my lack of focus. I think I am going to plan to ride him more often in the evenings, so hopefully we can get past the wild boy and more into the student. Has Johnny Knoxville grown up yet?
I think we were given the best christmas gift ever! I will remember this day for a long time because it was filled with the stuff that I
like the most: friends, cool enjoyable activity, good food and drink, as well as very little gift giving. Now dont get me wrong, I can tear open a package to rival a squealing 12 year old, but its not what I want to focus on this offensively consumeristic holiday.
Jordan and I woke up early and buzzed through the chores while Margarito slept in with his family. Marble, Lela and Ruben got their christmas gifts (a chicken in a bikini, a squeeking whale and an orange rubber dinosaur) while Duke and Beezie opened theirs (dont know what they were, you will have to ask them). Mark and Wes packed up the river gear and food, then we all piled in and drove north to Darrington to Carolyn and Joe Bersch’s house up there on the Sauk river. This is located right at the foothills of the Cascades and thus it is BEAUTIFUL! White mountains a stone throw away with raging rivers off them. I was the only one who had never been to their property, which has its very own hydroelectric dam on it. You will never hear either Joe or Carolyn talking about turning off light switches to save energy up there. Its all free! But the point of the trip was to float down the Skagit river and watch eagles. We think we saw 267 eagles – give or take 20 because it can be hard to count them when they fly around. Mostly, the eagles were sitting in trees digesting the salmon, and looking very regal. It is so peaceful to be out on the river floating through the wilderness…. surrounded by your obnoxious friends
having a great time. Thanks to Dan the Beer Man, we enjoyed the homebrew that was so trendy at the white elephant gift exchange. There were not too many flies out so you dont have to worry that Jordan choked on one.
We went back to the homestead and I promptly fell asleep in the warm toasty house on the couch, fire raging outside on the patio, pork tenderloin on the grill…. it was about the most perfect day I could imagine. 
Being winter, I cant help but want to get muddy sometimes. No, I dont look at the horse paddocks and want
to roll in them, but rather, go for a good run on the trails and come back with some evidence of my outing. Well, we got an opportunity to get REAL muddy in front of lots of people this weekend. We (Julie Posch, Mary Meagher, Jordan McNabb and myself) all ran as part of a team in the Pineapple Classic race to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. We were the Dears in the Headlights, and our costume was a complete smash hit. Most people dressed up with a beach or Luau theme, but ours was causing many heads to turn and laugh! It was so much fun.
The headlights are a bit hard to see, but if you really stare at our boobs….. they were flashing.
Its going to be a yearly outing for us now. The race was 5k and had quite a few obstacles on it for us to negotiate. Jordan’s fav was the giant fishing net that you had to climb up and over, Mary’s was NOT the small 9′ wall that we had to climb, and mine was the giant slip and slide at the end of the course for all to see. Im pretty sure that they wanted to help us wash off the mud by having soap and water available. How nice.
Here is a post race photo. Notice how the antlers have a much different pose to them before and after! 
Thank you to everyone who donated to our cause and thankgod for Julie who remembered what day the race was on. Jordan and Mary had scheduled a lesson for that day!
Hi yall, I have to admit that I am in the middle of summer doldrums here. I sort of recognized that I was feeling a little burned out only yesterday, when I realized that I needed to pack for the YR event. My friend, Michele Pestl, came today for a cross country school and she put a voice to this feeling. Getting sick of going to competitions every other weekend and feeling that not a lot was getting
done at home! I feel particularly torn about this because my season on Taukalot has barely started. He and I have been off to a rough start this year with shoe problems, then a hock repair, now a fall at Rebecca and me limping around. I only now, the last 10 days, feel that he and I are ready to do anything and properly prepared to go to an event. So, where is my motivation? Where is my gung-ho?
I think that I would be MUCH more inclined to go to a show if it were a two or one day event. I am very disappointed that Area VII seems to be stuck on the 3 day affair, which is really 4 days because you arrive on Thursday. (more…)
Is here: Derby Entry Form
I thought I should provide a list of the summer events planned here at Polestar. Entry forms will be on the FORMS page, which is under The Farm.
July 7-8 Canadian’s descend upon us for pre-Whidbey fun
August 14 Skagit Valley Pony Club Rally
August 16-17 Cross Training Camp
August 21 French Creek PC Mounted Meeting
August 28 French Creek PC/Polestar Derby
August 29 XC Clinic with Meika
But there is still reason to celebrate about the bridge. The 3 month repair has ended! and the 5 ton weight limit sign that has been up since last October IS GONE!!
This means that Jordan’s apartment and the barn can finally get some hot water now that the propane trucks can drive over. We can get a new load of shavings by the big truck. We were going to get it with one of the Ford trucks and off loading ourselves, a messy, sneezy afair. So, to celebrate, we are reinventing the Boatless BBQ for Friday evening. Borders and students are welcome to come starting after work sometime. 6 ish?
And while we are rejoycing in lovely things, here is a new video I posted of De Novo. Kinda runs in theme with the previous post about young dressage horses. De Novo video.